


You Can't Keep the Cats, Ace

by Ariel_Lazarus



Series: Ace and Cats [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Canon Universe, Cats, Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 19:08:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26033962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ariel_Lazarus/pseuds/Ariel_Lazarus
Summary: "Ok, why exactly do you have all these cats laying on you? And how did you even get them all on the damn ship?"
Relationships: Masked Deuce & Portgas D. Ace
Series: Ace and Cats [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1908709
Comments: 18
Kudos: 99





	You Can't Keep the Cats, Ace

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote another thing! This was inspired by some conversations I've had with friends on discord, mostly having to do with cats loving Ace and him loving them right back and collecting ridiculous amounts of them, lmao. I hope you enjoy the silliness of it!

This isn't _entirely_ surprising really. Cats have loved Ace obsessively ever since he ate his devil fruit. It only makes sense, honestly. His powers keep his body temperature higher than normal, and cats just love warm things after all. They're always following him around and rubbing against him whenever the Spades stop at islands. And the moment he sits or lays down anywhere, he's bound to have at least one on him within seconds. 

And Ace? He loves them nearly as much, always willing to let them snuggle into him and enjoying petting their soft fur. So really, this sort of thing was bound to happen eventually. Though that doesn't make it any less of a problem right now. Kotatsu was one thing, but this?

"Ok, why exactly do you have all these cats laying on you? And how did you even get them all on the damn ship?" 

Ace turns his head towards the person who spoke, his ever loyal and incredibly overworked first mate, careful not to shift too much and displace any of the aforementioned cats and answers with a bright smile, "Hey, Deuce! Look at them all! They just followed me right onto the ship, all by themselves! Isn't it great?"

"Great isn't exactly the term I'd use right now." Deuce says dryly, "What on earth are you planning to do with so many cats anyway? We can't possibly keep them on the ship."

"What? Why can't we keep them?" Ace looks surprised, "They obviously _want_ to stay here! They followed me!"

Deuce, trying to sound as reasonable as possible, answers, "Ace, I repeat, this is a _ship._ We do not have the space or the resources to keep so many cats while out at sea. You must have at least 10 there! It's ridiculous! Besides that, we're _pirates_!"

"What does us being pirates have to do with keeping the cats?" Ace asks, looking puzzled.

"Don't you think it'll be a little too dangerous for them to stay with us?" Deuce says, trying to appeal to Ace's clear fondness for the animals. "What happens when we inevitably end up in a battle? And if we get boarded by enemies? The marines or other pirates aren't going to bother to be careful of any cats underfoot. They could end up thrown overboard or killed."

"You think I can't protect them?" Ace looks rather indignant now. "I'm the captain! It's my job to protect the crew! I'd never let anything happen to them!"

"Ace, you can't possibly be everywhere during every battle, and accidents can happen no matter how hard you-"

Ace interrupts, "How do you know they'll even need help anyway? They came onto the ship with me, maybe they actually wanna be pirates?" He perks up, "Hey, maybe they'll even fight with us! Like Kotatsu!" Ace is getting a little too excited now, obviously imagining all the cats joining them in battle, fiercely attacking any enemies with their needlelike claws.

Wait, that's it! There's still another angle Deuce can try here to hopefully talk him out of this! "And that's another thing, what about Kotatsu?"

Confusion appears on Ace's face, "Huh? Kotatsu? What about him?"

"You think Kotatsu, who's a _giant lynx,_ won't cause any problems with all these cats aboard the ship? They're so small that they'll probably just be prey to him!"

"Kotatsu's a cat too though, just a bigger cat!" Ace says, matter of factly. "He'll probably get along great with them!"

Naturally, this is the exact moment Kotatsu appears from below deck and heads over towards Ace. Deuce holds his breath while he waits for the worst to happen, ready to try and interfere, as Kotatsu looks over all the new cats currently laying on and around Ace. He's sure that at the very least, Kotatsu will be jealous of them, not liking these interlopers lounging on _his_ captain.

"Hey there, buddy!" Ace exclaims cheerfully, "Come on and join us!"

"Mrow?" Kotatsu meows questioningly, as he stares at Ace and the cats for a moment, and then simply walks over and lays down in a mostly empty spot, nudging one of the cats out of the way. Said cat _stands up and crawls_ _right on top of Kotatsu and lays down._ The lynx remains completely unphased by this of course, because why wouldn't he be? He probably even heard what Deuce said before walking over and simply wanted to be contrary.

"See, Deuce?" Says Ace, "Kotatsu's just fine with them! You were worried for nothing!"

"I can see that." Deuce is getting exasperated now. There goes his best reasoning to convince Ace the cats couldn't stay. "Be that as it may, we still don't have the space and resources for all of them, Ace. We really _can't_ keep them."

"Oh come on, Deu!" Ace pleads, "Just look at them! Look at how cute they are, and how much they love it here already! They're basically part of the crew now!"

I think you mean how much they love _you_ and _how warm you are_ already, thinks Deuce. Who has just made the mistake of looking directly into Ace's pleading eyes. His heart starts beating faster all of a sudden as he looks at his captain's hopeful face, and would it really be so bad to keep the cats? They aren't that big, how much could they possibly eat? And if Kotatsu is really alright with them… maybe it'll be ok?

"Oh hey, what's with all the cats here on the ship? Are we keeping them? They're so cute!"

Deuce jerks back into awareness upon hearing Skull's voice, still feeling a little light headed for some reason.

"They're our newest crew members!" Ace answers, his smile beaming.

Several others from the crew have also arrived back at the ship, all exclaiming over the cats. Some already reaching down to pet or pick one up.

Deuce has now resigned himself to this situation. Ace is already calling them crew members, and the rest of the crew loves them. They are clearly keeping the cats. Nothing he says is going to make a difference now, but if Ace is happy, then he'll just have to check their supplies to make sure the cats can be taken care of while they're at sea. Perhaps they can still go purchase more provisions before they set out, he muses. 

"Mmrow?" 

Deuce looks down towards his feet, where one of the cats has come up to him and is now pawing at his leg, a fluffy black one that has a torn ear and is missing part of its tail, clearly a fighter. "Now what do you want then?"

"Brrrngow!" it makes a noise somewhere between a meow and a purr, looking up at him pleadingly, pawing at his leg again.

He caves and bends down to pick the cat up, and it immediately settles into his arms, purring contentedly. "Maybe this won't really be so bad?" He says to himself, petting the cat in his arms as he watches his captain and the rest of the crew fawning over all the other cats, Ace's bright smile making him feel strangely warm inside.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading my fic all the way through! Kudos or comments would be wonderful, but no pressure! I may write more for this au in the future, but motivation is a fickle mistress, so we'll see! If you'd like to talk to me or see what I'm up to, you can find me here at [my tumblr](https://arielxlazarus.tumblr.com/) or [my twitter](https://twitter.com/ArielxLazarus?s=09) or if you're 18 or over feel free to join my nsfw 18+ discord server called [pirate shenanigans](https://discord.gg/4ZYeYaX). We're just a nice and friendly (and thirsty af) community of adults who love one piece, especially Ace and all of the Spade and Whitebeard pirates!


End file.
